1. Prologue

A high pitched scream escaped her rosy pink lips as the wild animal steadily approached her. Its eyes were endless brown holes, and stared hungrily at the young girl. The golden fur draped around its body glistened in the eerie moonlight, making it glow a pale yellow. A growl formed in the back of its throat as it stepped closer and closer. Shoulders tense and ready, it showed its teeth in a vicious and monstrous snarl, maliciously curling its thin black lips. Salvia fell in thick drops to the floor, sending reverberating tremors through the floor, like ripples in the water.

Trapped she was, looking only at the creature. She had never seen anything like it; majestic in its posture, yet royal of looks. What was this thing?

There was no escape. The animal looked hungry, as though it was lusting after her flesh; her blood.

Speeding up its pace, the girl’s thoughts whirled in her mind. She knew for sure that she would die very soon. The gruesome odor of rotted meat flared in her nostrils. Out of instinct she pressed her body as hard as she could into the wall behind her. The bricks felt rough on her skin, but she didn’t care. It punctured holes in her fine complexion, yet the red scratches did not disturb her. The sharp pain distracted her from her current reality – which was exactly what she wanted. The panic inside her rose and there was nothing she could do to stop the pounding of her heart, beating hard against her chest.

Furtively she glanced at her surroundings. Only walls were to be seen, as she was in a square room supplied with one single door. Unfortunately for her that one exit was placed directly behind the creature. She could not leave the suffocating and confined chamber. There was no roof; the only light was supplied from the night sky above. A nauseating feeling of being utterly alone overwhelmed her. Her breath quickened, but the thick moist in the air made it hard to inhale.

The girl had no particular interest in being where she was, but it was a mandatory part of the educational system. A survey would be made each year of every single student, in the testing area. What happened in there was different from person to person – most saw beloved ones that were passed away, while others saw their worst fears. Some even saw nothing.

From the video camera, the spectators saw nothing but the girl cringing away from an unknown threat. They couldn’t tell what she saw, even though the neurotransmitters were secured safely to her head. This was very unusual. They could sense her fear, but not what she was afraid of. Rapidly they ransacked different files to identify the situation – but nothing was found.